


Cutting the Knot

by Ononymous



Series: Undertale Anniversary Requests 2018 [10]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Pre-Undertale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-23 06:12:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16613447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ononymous/pseuds/Ononymous
Summary: It wasn't often Undyne stopped to assess her life, but the same couldn't be said for the lives of others. And one such train of thought leads to an important conversation, the results of which would be nothing she could have anticipated.





	Cutting the Knot

**Author's Note:**

> Original suggestions: "what if gerson were to absorb the human souls instead of flowey? Youve got this really old geaser suddenly getting nearly god powers. What would it look like?" and "Prior to Frisk's arrival, Asgore and Undyne sit down and have a serious talk about the line of succession in case anything happens to him or Toriel. Perhaps what prompts this discussion is the realization that the fallen humans appear to be getting stronger and stronger and that the last one brought a gun, an actual weapon, with them."

Thinking at length definitely wasn't her strong point. She knew it, the Guards knew it, the King knew it. Frankly it was a benefit to her most of the time. But on occasion the unseen stars would align, and she would be forced to contemplate things beyond her immediate situation. The results of the conversation sparking this latest example still troubled Undyne, days after the fact. So she decided to find out where everyone involved stood. The uncertainty about it was niggling at her, hampering the performance of her duties by her own standards. Fortunately her own standards were so inflexibly high nobody had commented yet, but it was only a matter of time. She had to figure this out, not just for her sake, but for everyone. She had to know. With this decision in hand, she marched up to the grey door of the cottage and knocked, that level of tact itself a sign of her doubt.

"Howdy," came a muffled response, "it's unlocked!"

Undyne entered the house, uncharacteristically letting the door swing shut by itself, and turned towards the living room and the direction of the voice. Sure enough there was Asgore, sitting at the table in full armour with the air of one in a dressing robe, returning his tea to the table from his latest sip. But he wasn't alone. In the chair opposite him, chuckling at whatever embarrassing story he'd finished bringing up, was the only other person she might have asked about this.

"Oh, hey there Gerson!" She beamed at being in the presence of both her primary role models.

His leathery head turned in her direction, single yellow eye meeting single yellow eye. "Well howdydo, Undyne! Don't mind me, you can sit here, I'll take this old readin' chair. Better on my hips." He carefully dismounted the dining chair and slowly walked, upper body at a crooked angle to his legs, over to the fireplace and the aforementioned chair, grunting as familiar twinges of age tried to impede his slow and steady movements. Undyne took the vacated spot and beamed just as widely at the King, who was already pouring a third cup of tea.

"Tea, Captain?" The question was rhetorical, but he had always put stock in manners.

"Thank you, sir." As usual she took a large gulp, ignoring the protests of her throat about the temperature.

"Is there a problem, Undyne?" asked Asgore. "Do the changing rooms in the Royal Barracks need more liquid soap?"

"No no, nothing like that, sir. I took care of that yesterday."

"Wonderful. Then how can I help you today?"

Her grin faded as she drummed her fingers on the table. Her plan to talk to Asgore hadn't included what she might say. "It's kinda hard to explain. I think you can help... by explaining how you can continue to help."

"Wa ha-" Gerson's laughter was interrupted by a phlegm-flooded cough. The other monsters let him clear his throat without comment. " Wa ha ha! You've been hanging out with Papyrus too much, he's got ya talking in riddles!"

Asgore smiled at his old friend's remark. "I'm afraid I have to agree with Gerson, Undyne, I'm not sure what you mean."

Undyne wasn't sure what she meant either. The conclusion was clear, some important issues had to be laid out with Asgore, but how to verbalise those issues were not at hand. So she decided to plow on ahead and hopefully the words would come to her. They usually did.

"Well, do you remember... the last time a human fell in the Underground, sir? When I was a kid?"

Gerson's smile remained, but not its joviality. Asgore no longer had a smile at all. Undyne knew he wouldn't, but this wasn't the naive thoughtless probing she may have done in her early days. She had a purpose, and she knew that the King sometimes had to discuss things he'd rather not. And to Asgore's credit, he knew this too.

"The last time... Well yes I do, but why?"

"Well, I was talking to Bearnard. You know, he was in the Guard back then, ordered me to make sure people in Hotland stayed indoors during the emergency?"

"Ah yes. I remember when his father-"

"And we got to talking about it," she cut across, not wanting to get sidetracked, "and he told me what the human had been armed with."

As expected, Undyne could see Asgore wasn't enjoying revisiting this, he never did, but his silence was permission to continue discussing it. Gerson however was too old to give a damn about protocol like that, and spoke regardless.

"What's it matter what they had with 'em? Ain't like they're in a position to use it now." His followup laugh felt a little forced. The cough it provoked was less so.

"Gerson, I'm serious." And she was, for she wasn't shouting. "The human had a gun."

"And one human had some shoes, I ain't seein' why it's a big-"

She slammed her hand on the table. "Argie told me about that one, you leatherhead! He told me that they went on a rampage! That Asgore nearly died! He and you two were the only ones who knew how close it was!"

"Undyne." There was a slight force to Asgore's word, but it was more a request than an order. Still, she got the point and tried to calm down. "I'm still not seeing what you're getting at. Yes, taking a human soul can be dangerous, I have never concealed that from you, but-"

"And it's getting more dangerous! Shoes one day, guns the next! What if the next human has, I dunno, an antimatter pulsar rifle?"

Three eyes stared uncomprehendingly at her. A fourth peeked from its olive cover to join the fun.

"An aunty-what?" both men said.

"It's an experimental weapon," she snapped impatiently, "Doctor Alphys showed me an example in one of her history books. I just... there's a pattern. I've looked at the records, Asgore. The humans are getting stronger. Deadlier, even."

"Izzat so? What do ya suggest, sue for peace?" joked Gerson. "Pretty hard to get 'em to listen."

"No," she shook her head. "it doesn't change what we have to do, I'd never counsel that. I just worry that... if we get the final soul... but they get through to the King before we do... Asgore, what happens if you die?"

Whatever Asgore and Gerson had been discussing before Undyne had arrived, mortality was not on the agenda. Gerson eyed the table keenly, all noise suppressed, while Asgore stroked his beard to give him a chance to collect himself.

"Hmm. Well, it's not a question we've faced in a long time. We should not have to. I am not going anywhere, Undyne."

"But what if a human evicts you, or- you know what I mean!"

"Well logically, the next in line to lead us would be the... the Queen."

He sagged at this prospect. Undyne felt a toxic barb of thoughts stir in the back of her mind, but set it aside.

"Sir... nobody's heard from her in years. She might even be-" she halted and changed tack at the rapidly changing look on his face. "I'm just saying, we can't assume she's, uh, available to lead us. So who would take over then?"

She felt a pang of guilt for treading on these subjects, prodding at old scars she'd long ago learned the pain of, and she could see the effect it was having. It was like she was a kid again. But it wasn't clumsy curiosity now. She knew the weight she was forcing on his shoulders, and he knew he had to bear it at times. And this time she was certain it was for his own good.

"If there was no obvious successor," he said, admirably stoic given the topic at hand, "I suppose the Underground might wish to vote on who would be King. But that would take time. Perhaps in the interim, a regent might rule, and organise the vote. The Captain of the Guard, for instance-"

"Me?!" she shook her head. "No way, I can't do what you can, Sir. Like, okay, I could direct them in battle if it came to that, but I couldn't give them hope. You can, I've seen it my whole life. I just worry that if you die... our hope dies." She sipped her tea to give Asgore the time to process what she was getting at.

"Oh, I'm sure things will work out fine, Captain." The tone of his voice didn't entirely agree. "We don't need to overthink a matter like succession-"

"Yes we do." She stated it like a fact. "The point is- What I'm trying to... you're too valuable, Asgore. Even if we get the last soul, without you we'll just be as hopeless. Until you choose a successor..."

"Well," he pondered, with a slight force suggesting this might be his final word, "would you like to be-"

"I refuse." Her yellow eye narrowed as she drained her tea. "I'm a soldier, not a leader. You've tried to give me pointers about it already, and some of them have helped when I run the Guard, but you make it look so easy. I could never really replace you. But what I can do is protect you. Sir, without a successor... the next time a human is sighted in the Underground, I think you should remain in the castle. Let the Royal Guard hunt them down."

Asgore now wore a curious expression on his face. "Oh golly, it's my turn to refuse, Undyne. I cannot have others exposed to dangers I'd gladly face myself. If you've known me well enough to judge my reign, you should know that as well. Even if it means I am slain-"

"You won't be, Asgore. I'll make sure of it!"

For the first time, Asgore spoke without the warmth customary in his voice. "I will not have others endure the costs of collecting souls. You are young, you have no idea-"

"Don't try to pull that again, I'm not a kid anymore! You think I haven't realised what you inflict on yourself when you go out there? You've endured enough of the cost. I'll gladly pursue the next human myself. You'll stay safe so you can keep our people safe! To keep their hope alive!"

"The war is not over, Undyne." The temperature in the room was rising. "Only when it ends shall I have endured enough. Monsters are kept safe when they do not fight in my stead. If I can help it, nobody else needs blood on their hands! That is an order, _Captain_."

An insurrection was brewing in Undyne's head. Her chair was toppled over as she got to her feet. "So what, you'll kill or be killed? Uh-uh! We can't lose you! _**I**_ can't!"

Asgore's chair joined its twin while large fists slammed on the table. " _And I can't lose-!_ "

The heated words were smothered in a thick blanket of shock as the room suddenly shook. Thuds and tinkles replaced the anger as shelves were involuntarily cleared. A low and ominous groan was emitted from what sounded like everywhere in the room, the house even. The tremor began to intensify, and both of them instinctively known this was affecting the whole mountain. And just when it reached a crescendo, it stopped. The two monsters remained standing in silence, Asgore's claws scratching the table where he'd grabbed it to avoid stumbling.

"Woah, what was that?" asked Undyne at last. "Is the volcano destabilising?!"

"That shouldn't happen, the core keeps it in check by syphoning off its energy." Asgore looked over to the fireplace. "Gerson, are you-"

But Gerson was gone. Truth told, both had completely forgotten him as their discussion picked up steam.

"What if he was hurt in the tremor? Let's find him."

Asgore nodded, all thoughts of argument aside. They headed into the hall.

"The rope to the stairs is on the floor. You think the tremor did that?"

"No," said Asgore, "look, it's been unlocked. I think Gerson went down that way."

"Why?"

He could not answer. They followed the steps down to the winding corridor. They moved in silence, the tremor and the absence of their friend displacing all other thoughts from their mind. From the walkway overlooking New Home, they could see other monsters emerging from buildings, swapping notes on what just happened, confirming the notion the whole Underground had felt it. A few caught sight of them and waived happily, for it was obvious the King was on top of whatever was happening. It didn't take long for them to reach the Throne Room. Neither gave voice to why they thought this was the right way to go, it was like an unknown force was guiding them. Down some stairs, one final cavern and...

"Oh, there you are!"

It had been a while since Undyne had stood before the Barrier. She used to do it after training sometimes, to remind herself what she was training for. There stood Gerson, proud and upright, looking at the problem himself, before turning around at her words.

"Wa ha ha!" His laugh was clear and confident. "Hello again, young'uns! 's just been a century or two since I last gazed at it, figure'd I'd refresh my memory."

"Fuhuhuhuhu! You picked a hell of a time to wander off like that. Did you feel that tremor-?"

"Gerson."

She hadn't heard that tone in Asgore's voice before. She couldn't even pin an emotion to it. Turning to him, he was not also looking at Gerson, but instead down at the floor. Unmistakable dread was growing on his face.

"That tremor. I felt it once before. The night he... But it was nowhere near as... Gerson, what did you do?!"

Undyne tried to answer the question herself by following Asgore's gaze. He was looking at seven glass jars between him and Gerson, anchored to a smooth metal slab looking like it was merged with the floor, even though in Undyne's memory there had only ever been coarse stone there. Six of the jars were open, but all were empty.

"Hyeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhh," sighed Gerson. He sounded regretful. "Thought I'd try to make sure you wouldn't freak out. Looks like we're past that."

"Gerson, what-"

She looked into his yellow eyes. Both of them, itself a rarity. They were sharply focused in a way Undyne had no memory of, staring back at her. And she had the unshakable feeling she should have been looking several feet up to see them like this.

"'s a clever trick. No doubt you had help making that li'l pocket for 'em, Madjick or someone. You never were any good at sneaky stuff like this. The mental password's a good touch, wise to need that fer them. And you didn't even use your own birthday! You put some thought into this. But ya still used hers, Asgore. And yer boy's, too. But mine? Heh, I'm flattered. Young Rudy's was a surprise as well. Guess he was on yer mind when ya made it."

"Put them back," Asgore pleaded, "before it's too-"

"Sorry. No can do, boy."

Gerson blinked. And that was when they _saw_ him. Saw _him_. He almost filled the cavern now, easily tripled in height. His skin was still leathery, but the wrinkles had gone, as though stretched and smoothed by his growth. His safari suit was gone, replaced with jet black armour, the Delta Rune barely noticeable as an indent on his chest. Like Asgore he wore no gauntlets or boots, all his limbs ending in wicked claws. A massive tail protruded behind him, casually reaching through the barrier as though it weren't there. His once-wispy hair was full and dark, a millennium stripped from his features, while his eyes were replaced with a kaleidoscope of six different colours, shifting rapidly and at random. A hammer, taller than Asgore and glowing with eldritch runes, was strapped to a shell that could now be the roof of a small house. His snout was blunter, more saurian, and in lieu of a beak he had razor sharp teeth that exceeded Undyne's. And the eeriest thing was how he seemed to shimmer. The raw power he now radiated was causing the light around him to twist and refract, which in the already bizarre light of the barrier was truly awe inspiring.

"Didn't take a genius." He sounded exactly as he had a moment before, only more so. "Soon as you started mouthing off about the King snuffin' it, it was obvious where this would end."

"What, hurt feelings?" To her credit, Undyne felt no fear as she stood before this being. "Why would you take the souls over that?!"

"'cuz those feelings wouldn't end until one of you were dead."

"What?!" Asgore stood upright too, in indignation. "I'd never attack any monster over that, let alone Undyne!"

"No duh, Fluffybuns. But you won't finish what you started. Ya coulda done this years ago. And it's like she said, they're gettin' more dangerous. But you're too soft and she's too stubborn. Either you get yerself killed the next time a human comes along and break her heart, or she gets herself killed and breaks yours. And a whole lotta other hearts get broken in any case, including mine. I'm old. I've had my fill. I'll bloody my hands, one more time in service to the realm. The realm still has her king, the Captain of the Guard still has her role model, and you still have her innocence."

"But it's too dangerous, Gerson!" cried Asgore. "If the humans attack you-"

"Figure that ceased being a major strategic concern five minutes ago." He patted his chest with the force of a boulder. "Feisty little buggers, that comes with their youth, but once you adjust you just gotta know how to keep 'em sleeping. Unless somebody knows they're there it shouldn't be a problem. Got a handle on it now."

How does one make an appeal to one of the most stubborn people you know, when that person went and achieved apotheosis? Undyne didn't know, but she was going to try. And fail. "Gerson-"

"Reckon the two of you oughta sit down, kiddo."

Both Undyne and Asgore were forced to the ground. Whether they'd been pushed to their knees by an unseen force or mentally persuaded to do so, neither knew. Undyne found herself staring at the one closed jar, before feeling something poke her back and stroke her head. Gerson was patting her gently with two fingers, claws reaching past her firey hair. Looking up again, his smile looked so much like hers with all the teeth, but there was a restraint beyond her ability to express. It was almost reassuring.

"Get the guard to prep a party or somethin'. Be right back."

With thundering steps, he turned around. His tree trunk of a tail reached just to Asgore and Undyne's faces, brushing them both, and began to sink into the barrier as Gerson proceeded to take a long overdue stroll in the fresh air.

**Author's Note:**

> Pastebin version: https://pastebin.com/CWskuNH1
> 
> Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!


End file.
